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New national sex-education standards stir controversy
by Michael Foust
Date: January 13, 2012 - Friday
WASHINGTON (BP) -- Four leading education organizations have released national sex-ed standards that encourage fifth-graders to be taught about sexual orientation and eighth-graders to learn about gender identity and the morning-after pill, but many say the recommendations infringe on parental rights.
The non-binding standards by the National Education Association and three other groups are billed as the "first-ever national standards" for sex-ed in schools, and they provide detailed suggestions for what students should learn by the second, fifth, eighth and 12th grades. From a social conservative's standpoint, nearly every page of the recommendations has something controversial.
By the second grade, students are to learn the "proper names for body parts, including male and female anatomy." By the fifth grade, they should learn that sexual orientation is the "romantic attraction of an individual to someone of the same gender or a different gender." By the end of the eighth grade, students should be able to "differentiate between gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation" and learn about the morning-after pill, which can cause abortions. They also should know how to use a condom, the standards say. Gender identity is a term that refers to men and women who, in essence, believe they were born the wrong sex. Both gender identity and gender expression encompass cross-dressers and transgendereds.
Although the recommendations are non-binding, the NEA and the other groups hope they catch on with schools. Others, though, are hoping schools simply ignore them.
"In a society where adults are sharply divided on how to address these issues, it makes no sense whatsoever for groups like the NEA to tell our children how they should think," said Bob Stith, the Southern Baptist national strategist for gender issues and representative of the convention's Task Force on Ministry to Homosexuals.
Stith added in his comments to Baptist Press, "The reality is that it has the potential to create serious conflicts between parents and children. If children are taught values that are in direct opposition to the biblical values of their parents, those parents would be put in an adversarial position with their own children. This is just simply not a healthy approach."
Among other recommendations, the standards say by the fifth grade, children should be able to:
-- "Identify medically accurate information about female and male reproductive anatomy.
-- "Define HIV and identify some age appropriate methods of transmission, as well as ways to prevent transmission.
-- "Define sexual harassment and sexual abuse."
By the eighth grade, the standards say students should be able to:
-- "Analyze external influences that have an impact on one's attitudes about gender, sexual orientation and gender identity.
-- "Access accurate information about gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation.
-- "Communicate respectfully with and about people of all gender identities, gender expressions and sexual orientations.
-- "Describe the steps to using a condom correctly."
The standards say that by the 12th grade, students should be able to:
-- "Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of abstinence and other contraceptive methods, including condoms.
-- "Differentiate between biological sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity and expression.
-- "Distinguish between sexual orientation, sexual behavior and sexual identity."
Valerie Huber of the National Abstinence Education Association (NAEA) described the standards as full of "special-interest agendas."
"When we set standards, we should communicate the ideal, the best message to achieve optimal health," Huber said. "When a set of guidelines fails to provide any meaningful emphasis on optimal health but instead gives priority to 'condom negotiation' skills, we have not set standards; we have lowered them and put our children at increased risk."
The other organizations involved in writing the standards were the American Association of Health Education, the American School Health Association and the Society of State Leaders of Health and Physical Education.
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Michael Foust is associate editor of Baptist Press. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp).
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43 arrested while protesting NYC church ban
by Tiffany Owens
Date: January 13, 2012 - Friday
NEW YORK (BP) -- Police arrested 43 New York City pastors and lay people on Jan. 12 who were protesting the city's ban on church use of public schools for worship services. The ban is scheduled to go into effect Feb. 12.
The arrests came after more than 200 people gathered in the rain outside a Bronx public school where New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was giving his state of the city address. After singing songs and cheering speeches, protesters walked out in orderly groups of five to eight to kneel in front of barricades and pray. Police warned them to leave and then made arrests on charges of disorderly conduct.
The New York Board of Education has banned religious use of schools on Sunday mornings or at other times the schools are otherwise unused -- even though the churches rent the space, dropping an estimated several million dollars per year into the city cashbox. If the ban prevails, more than 150 congregations will have to move to other meeting space starting next month -- and that's hard to find in New York City.
The week before, police arrested New York City Councilman and pastor Fernando Cabrera, pastor Bill Devlin, and five others on charges of "criminal trespassing." Their alleged trespass was kneeling and singing two hymns outside the doors of the New York City Law Department. Police held them in custody for three hours.
The following day, the New York Housing Authorities reversed its position to evict churches that meet inside community centers. Board of Education officials stuck with their ban on churches, though, saying it will protect the minds of "impressionable youth."
On Jan. 9 more than 100 persons from different ethnic, income and denominational backgrounds held a prayer meeting at Calvary Baptist Church in midtown Manhattan. The prayer event concluded a citywide week of fasting and prayer on behalf of pastors and council members who are working to overturn the ban.
Bronx pastor Dimas Salberrios said the ban would be particularly harmful in poorer communities: Churches in boroughs like Queens and the Bronx successfully battle crime and poverty, and uprooting them is "destructive." He pointed to lower crime rates, help for the poor and homeless, and educational assistance for children as examples of what churches contribute.
The Bronx pastor, who has battled homicides in his own neighborhood and been held at gunpoint six times, has been on a hunger strike since Jan. 1 and says he won't eat until the ban is overturned.
Attempts at a legislative fix are underway. New York Assemblyman Nelson Castro has introduced Bill A08800, which would allow "the use of school buildings and school sites for religious meetings and worship when not in use for school purposes or when such service or worship is deemed not disruptive of normal school operations."
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Tiffany Owens writes for World News Service, where this story first appeared.
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Tebow's 316 yards leads to Internet salvations
by Michael Foust
Date: January 13, 2012 - Friday
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (BP) -- When outspoken Christian quarterback Tim Tebow threw for 316 yards to help Denver upset favored Pittsburgh in the playoffs, millions flocked to the Internet to search for John 3:16 -- so much so that the day after the game, that Bible verse was the No. 1 search on Google.
As it turns out, some of those Google searches were of eternal significance.
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association reports that more than 150 people have made a decision to accept Christ as their Savior as a result of searching for "John 3:16" in Google and then clicking on an advertisement for the BGEA's PeacewithGod.net website. BGEA can track that data because it began advertising on Google on Monday so that people who searched for "John 3:16" saw an ad for PeacewithGod.net. All total, 8,000 people searching for the verse clicked on PeacewithGod.net.
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association often uses Google ads to advertise its website. Some examples include searches for "What happens when I die?" and "Does God exist?" The website has tallied more than 1 million visitors since it launched in May.
"We can respond to exactly what people are searching for at that moment -- and it's often a very simple next-step to the Gospel," John Cass, BGEA's director of internet evangelism, was quoted as saying in a BGEA article.
The fact that an outspoken Christian quarterback threw for 316 yards was, some said, not coincidental. Tebow has been known to write "John 3:16" on his eye black. There were other 3:16 curiosities:
-- Tebow's average for his 10 passes was 31.6 yards.
-- The overtime drew a 31.6 television rating.
-- Pittsburgh's time of possession was 31 minutes, 6 seconds.
The Broncos travel to New England Saturday to play the heavily favored Patriots. Tebow's unorthodox quarterback style and his last-minute heroics during the regular season and playoffs have led to a debate over whether God's hand is directly involved in the Broncos' wins. One of the more in-depth treatments to that question was written by Boyce College professor Owen Strachan in The Atlantic. The answer is neither "yes" nor "no," Strachan wrote.
"The Bible says that God oversees everything that happens in this world," Strachan wrote, quoting Jesus in Matthew 10:29: "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny. And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father."
Strachan, who serves at the Louisville, Ky., school, continued, "But is God directly intervening on the football field in the same way that, for example, he did to cause the virgin birth of Luke 2 (in what is called 'primary causation')? That I don't know. It's not clear to my human eyes how this all shakes out. I do know that the Lord is working everything out according to his wise and mysterious counsel which, try as we might, we cannot fully understand."
Even if Tebow has the worst game of his career Saturday and loses, Strachan said, nothing about Tebow's faith -- or God's providence -- changes.
"Sometimes God grants believers great victories, and sometimes he asks them to walk through the fire," Strachan wrote. "This is true whether it is experienced on the football field, in the office, or in a country that rewards outspoken Christianity with a sword to the throat."
Strachan's column is available online at http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/01/does-god-care-whether-tim-tebow-wins-on-saturday/251273/.
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Michael Foust is associate editor of Baptist Press. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp).
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Babies rescued at Door of Hope in South Africa
by Michael Ray Smith
Date: January 13, 2012 - Friday
EDITOR'S NOTE: Jan. 15 is observed as Sanctity of Human Life Sunday in the Southern Baptist Convention.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (BP) -- Thirteen-year-old Georgina Smith, originally from South Africa, still gets a kick out of introducing her parents to friends from school.
When classmates see the African teenager's white parents, they look stunned. Then parents Roy and Shirley Smith exchange a timeworn glance and simply say, "Can't you see the family resemblance?" The Smiths adopted Georgina among the first babies placed in Door of Hope's care after they and North Carolina Baptist Men helped organize the Johnannesburg ministry in 1999.
"We prayed that God would bring a family to adopt Georgina when she was a baby," Roy Smith recounted. "God answered that prayer with us."
Today Georgina is among about 1,000 babies that Door of Hope has rescued in a city where up to 100 children per month are abandoned.
Although the Smiths have two grown sons, one with children of his own, they saw the need of an orphaned baby who has since matured into a bubbly American teenager who radiates a singular faith of her own.
"I am really blessed," Georgina said from the family home in a snug Virginia Beach neighborhood, a 30-minute drive from the ocean.
"There are a lot of kids out there who are not in the Door of Hope program and it makes me really sad to think about it," Georgina said.
For Richard Brunson, executive director of North Carolina Baptist Men, the Door of Hope ministry may be more than 8,000 miles from his Raleigh-area office but it couldn't be closer to his heart.
"Baptist men and women are known internationally for their help with disaster relief," Brunson said. "But we are involved in lots of ministries. We operate North Carolina ministries such as the nation's largest mobile medical-dental ministry, but we try to be world Christians with ministries such as Door of Hope based in Berea Baptist Church in Johannesburg."
Brunson's office is filled with reminders of places Baptist men and women go, including a tarnished silver fork mounted on a 10-inch wooden plaque, a reminder of the family of 12 who once had to share the fork for lack of eating utensils. Brunson's files contain an array of letters from supporters, many of whom let it be known that they are not Baptist.
"They give because of the work that God is doing," Brunson said, adding, "Baptist men and women give because we are called to share Christ with a needy world."
Roy Smith, who now serves as associational missionary with the Norfolk Area Baptist Association, and his wife formerly worked with North Carolina Baptist Men in conjunction with the International Mission Board in Johannesburg where they worked with Berea Baptist Church to address the problem of abandoned babies.
Grinding poverty and other social ills can cause mothers to abandon babies in refuse heaps, the river, even storm drains, Smith said. He and his colleagues worked to open Door of Hope where babies could be nurtured in a loving environment.
The Door of Hope features a window-shaped opening on the street where a mother can leave a baby in a comfortable bin without revealing her identity. Once the baby is inside, a sensor alerts the staff who rush to the baby's aid. Mothers who leave their babies at Door of Hope do so out of compassion that overcomes a wave of shame, Smith said.
The ministry provides the baby with any needed medical treatment and, ultimately, a foster home, which they call a "forever family." While the state oversees the process, which can be quite rigorous, Door of Hope screens prospective parents for their commitment to the baby and their commitment to the Lord.
Georgina was among the first babies to arrive at Door of Hope and, before long, she took to the Smiths.
"It got so that when I came in, if I didn't pick up Georgina right away, she would latch around my leg," Smith recalled.
"She would stand on his feet and walk with him," Shirley added.
The Smiths began to sense that they should adopt Georgina. They remember the day they waited in a courthouse in Johannesburg so long that they thought the adoption must have gone awry. When all seemed lost, a clerk had the Smiths sign a series of legal documents and then a judge appeared and quickly congratulated them on adopting Georgina, saying, "According to the laws of South Africa, she is the same to you as a blood-born child."
Nearly 12 years later, Georgina eyes her parents with a merry glance and says, "They are pretty awesome parents."
A good student, Georgina excels in English and music and plans to perform with People to People Student Ambassadors in Europe. She wants to have a career in music or in foreign relations.
Whatever she does, she said ministry won't be too far off her mind. She visited the Door of Hope with her parents not long ago and asked to spend time with the babies.
Realizing that she was once one of them moved her. "I said I would definitely be coming back when I turn 18."
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Michael Ray Smith is professor of communications studies at Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C. Additional information on Door of Hope or other ministries of North Carolina Baptist Men may be obtained by visiting www.ncmissions.org or calling 1-800-395-5102, ext. 5613.
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Pregnancy care centers offer counsel & prayer
by Kristie Randolph
Date: January 13, 2012 - Friday
EDITOR'S NOTE: Jan. 15 is observed as Sanctity of Human Life Sunday in the Southern Baptist Convention.
PIKEVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- When Lisa Welch* began volunteering at the Appalachian Pregnancy Care Center, she had no idea that one day she would find herself relying on the center's support during a crisis in her own family.
At the time, Welch was teaching abstinence throughout the community. Her husband served as a supply preacher for local churches and their family was actively involved at church. Yet in 2008, Welch learned that her 15-year-old daughter Katie was pregnant.
Though she tried to remain strong for her daughter, Welch said she was struggling and turned to the center for help. Over the coming months, counselors guided Welch and her family through the difficult journey of an unplanned pregnancy.
On Jan. 15, Baptist churches in Kentucky and throughout the Southern Baptist Convention will observe Sanctity of Human Life Sunday by focusing on life issues, as well as the critical role played by pregnancy centers such as Appalachian Pregnancy Care Center in helping women choose life.
"It was like God sent the pregnancy center just for me," Welch said. "We were in the ministry, I taught abstinence, and then my own daughter was pregnant. I was in shock. I knew I needed good, strong, biblical advice."
The center, located in Pikeville, Ky., encouraged Katie to stay in school and helped her complete her high school diploma. The center also counseled Katie's boyfriend who "didn't grow up with a father figure," Welch said, "and needed guidance on how to be a dad."
Three months after the birth of their baby girl, Katie married her boyfriend. Welch continues to serve as a volunteer at the center and will be hired on full-time there in May.
Appalachian Pregnancy Care Center, which has served more than 1,000 clients since it opened in 2007, is one of 52 such ministries across Kentucky that relate to the Kentucky Baptist Convention.
Eric Allen, KBC director of mission service and ministries, said the convention supports these centers by raising awareness of their services, encouraging church partnerships, providing grants to the centers, enlisting volunteer teams to help with maintenance and repair and praying for their work.
"Many organizations promote abortion. The church has a responsibility to promote and take a stand for life that God has created," Allen said.
In 2011 alone in Louisville, an estimated 3,367 abortions were performed through November at the EMW Women's Surgical Center, according to statistics provided by Right to Life of Louisville.
Allen encourages churches to actively support pregnancy care centers as a way to demonstrate their commitment to life. Sanctity of Human Life Sunday also provides an opportunity for churches to teach what the Bible says about life issues, Allen said.
"It's easy to condemn abortion, but my prayer is that Kentucky Baptists will put forth an even greater effort by partnering with local pregnancy care centers that are showing the love of Christ through their ministry to women in need."
Pregnancy care centers play an especially critical role in the lives of clients such as Marie Thomas* who was "abortion-minded" when she first entered one of the clinics before finding help and counsel from the workers.
Not long after finding out she was pregnant, fear and shame motivated Thomas to seek an abortion. She already had two children from a previous marriage and her boyfriend felt unprepared to father a child.
Thomas soon learned about A Loving Choice Pregnancy Center in Shelbyville, walked inside, and immediately asked the volunteers to help her find a place that would perform an abortion.
After several conversations with a counselor, Thomas decided to keep her child and gave birth in 2009 to a baby boy. Just before the birth, Thomas married her boyfriend.
"I don't even believe in abortion, but sometimes you get desperate," said Thomas, who was active in church at the time and was afraid of what people would think. "I felt like I had to do that at the time. The counselors helped me think and calm down, and they prayed with me."
Thomas is grateful for the ministry of A Loving Choice and believes "it's really important work because women need that kind of support. They let you know it's going to be OK."
More than 900 clients have been served by the center since its inception in 2006 and the lives of at least 10 babies have been saved.
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*Names changed to protect the privacy of individuals referenced in this story. Kristie Randolph writes for the Kentucky Baptist Convention. Information for groups interested in starting a pregnancy care center is available at www.namb.net/pregnancy-care. In Kentucky, individuals interested in more information about partnering with a pregnancy care center can visit www.kybaptist.org/pregnancycare or contact the KBC's Mission Service and Ministry Department at 502-489-3530 or (866) 489-3530 or by email at ministries@kybaptist.org.
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Crisis pregnancy care digs into her heart
by Sharayah Colter
Date: January 13, 2012 - Friday
EDITOR'S NOTE: Jan. 15 is observed as Sanctity of Human Life Sunday in the Southern Baptist Convention.
FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) -- A tiny hand seemed to wave at everyone in the room on a small TV screen inside a watermelon-slice-shaped window. Then a face of the same black-and-white image became visible. A heartbeat, meanwhile, thudded rhythmically on a bedside monitor, signaling a life that had begun six weeks earlier.
Unfortunately, not all lives get the chance to continue; well over 1 million pregnancies end in abortion each year in the United States. With the help of Diane Montgomery and her colleagues at the Fort Worth Pregnancy Center, though, some of those lives will have a chance to grow up and a chance to make their own choices.
"[These mothers] don't know what to do," Montgomery says. "They need someone to listen to them. They need someone to care about them because everyone else is just saying, 'Do what you've got to do for your own self. It's your body.' And nobody is really listening to the emotional troubles they are having. ...
"Because we care for them and listen to them, it opens a door for not only the potential of lives to be chosen, but for her life to be changed, for the Lord to influence her life and spiritually to be changed as well."
Montgomery, who began volunteering at the center shortly before she took a staff position there in August, says the Lord used her seminary studies to prepare her to minister to the women in crisis.
"I was applying all that I was learning here [at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary] into writing and ministry, so I was applying a lot of the academic stuff, but I wanted to apply the practical [aspect] -- to get down to the women of the real world -- and I wanted to give back to the community," Montgomery recounts. "You're poured into so much here at Southwestern, and I wanted to pour into other women who have no clue what they're missing out on."
With women aborting 6,000 babies each year in Tarrant County where Southwestern is located, Montgomery says the center is in constant need of help, be it time, money or prayer.
"We always need volunteers because it breaks my heart when we have to turn away women because we don't have enough volunteers and we don't have someone that can meet with them," she says. She hopes more Southwestern women will become involved as volunteers "because whether they're a wife of a student or they are a student, they're getting the training, they have a heart for ministry, and they understand the practical side of helping people in crisis."
The center doesn't just need women, but men, too, says Montgomery, whose husband Alex also aims to get involved in the crisis pregnancy ministry.
"He wants to become a volunteer to help those guys who are sitting there in the waiting room when their girlfriend is with us, who just say, OK, yeah, it's your choice. You can do whatever you want. I support you.' And they have no idea what an abortion really means," Montgomery explains. "We have guy counselors that go in there to encourage them to know how to support their girlfriend or wife in this situation and to educate them on what's going on in their girlfriend's body, in their mind, what would happen with her during an abortion or adoption and just kind of how to be a man in a relationship."
Though she and Alex plan to deploy as missionaries to Colombia, South America, sometime in 2012, Montgomery plans to engage in crisis pregnancy ministry there as well.
"Legal and illegal abortions are rampant," she says. "There is no pregnancy center that gives these women alternatives. They feel like they are stuck there. I just hope that I touch not only women in Tarrant County but also women in South America because it is a huge issue."
Montgomery came to Southwestern after graduating from Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas. A tennis player with dreams of opening her own bakery, she never imagined God would lead her into ministry, but she followed willingly wherever He led her.
"I started out in the master of arts in Christian education degree," Montgomery recounts. "After taking Mrs. [Dorothy] Patterson's [course in] Biblical Theology of Womanhood, I just wanted more. She spurred me on to want to know more, to grapple more with Scripture, to know more about women in Scripture. It was the Lord doing a work in me."
That spurring led Montgomery to switch to the master of divinity in women's studies, earning her degree in May 2011 and describing her involvement in Southwestern's women's programs as developing skills and ministries in her that she never would have predicted for her life.
"The program offers you so much education and preparation that you can do anything. Because of the women's program here, the Lord developed in me a writing ministry that I never thought I'd be able to do," says Montgomery who, with two other women, writes content for their UnlockingFemininity.com website, which she says also entails a soon-to-be-published book.
From the pregnancy center to her writing to meeting her husband in a personal evangelism class, Montgomery says the Lord has determined her path. Whether participating in door-to-door evangelistic efforts or working at the pregnancy center, Montgomery strives to share the hope and truth of Scripture that can battle what a sin-sick culture says about life and how to live it.
"That is kind of how I got turned on to the pregnancy center, was my love for women and ministering to women and then also a love for the Gospel," she said. "It's the perfect opportunity that I can love on women, that I can help them and that I can share the Lord with them. It's just kind of the perfect place for that."
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Sharayah Colter is a newswriter for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas (www.swbts.edu/campusnews).
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Myanmar cease-fire: 'Time will tell'
by Tess Rivers
Date: January 13, 2012 - Friday
MYANMAR (BP) -- The government of Myanmar (Burma) and the Karen National Union, the country's oldest ethnic rebel group, signed a cease-fire agreement Jan. 12, bringing a possible end to 60-plus years of fighting between Burmese Buddhist ethnic groups and the predominantly Christian Karen.
Christian workers in Southeast Asia are expressing cautious hope and calling for prayer in light of the historic agreement, the first since the Karen National Union began its struggle for autonomy in 1948. If effective, the cease-fire could mean the end of one of the world's longest-running civil wars.
"If it lasts, this could be a huge step forward," said Mitch Igo*, a Christian worker based in Southeast Asia. "It could create positive stability."
Hans Peter*, another Christian worker familiar with the region, agreed. "I hope what we are hearing is true," he said. "The ethnic groups have been down this road before, only to be betrayed."
For many years the Karen people have been the target of "ethnic cleansing" by the ruling Burmese. According to reports from human rights groups, military forces have routinely burned Karen villages, homes and churches. As a result, thousands of Karen have been forced from their homes, with many seeking refuge in neighboring Thailand.
Given the depth of hatred and bitterness between the two groups, overcoming their longstanding rivalry will take more than a political agreement.
"An entire generation of Burmese and Karen have grown up fighting with each other," Igo said. "There is such deep mistrust it may take another generation to smooth out. Lasting peace will only be found in Christ."
However, Igo and Peter voiced cautious optimism, noting that real change seems to be taking place in the country since the March 2011 elections -- Myanmar's first "free" elections in 20 years. The new government has recognized the political party of freed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, sought to improve relations with Western governments and moved to negotiate an end to conflicts with other ethnic rebel groups in addition to the Karen.
In spite of mixed reports on the status of religious freedom since the election, Igo hopes the cease-fire will allow Christian workers access to areas previously closed due to fighting.
Peter hopes these changes are a signal that the cease-fire is "the real deal."
"Time will tell," he said.
Among the ways to pray for Myanmar:
-- that the cease-fire will result in lasting peace and stability within the region.
-- that Burmese and Karen ethnic groups will forgive each other for past atrocities and learn to work together.
-- that Christian workers will gain greater access to closed areas as a result of increased openness by the government.
-- that Karen Christians will take a lead role in sharing the Gospel with other ethnic groups.
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*Names changed. Tess Rivers is a writer with the International Mission Board based in Southeast Asia.
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Leaders: Gay 'marriage' threatens rel. liberty
by Tom Strode
Date: January 13, 2012 - Friday
WASHINGTON (BP) -- Two Southern Baptist ethics leaders joined representatives from a diversity of religious groups to ask Americans Jan. 12 to protect marriage and religious liberty in the face of the advance of same-sex unions.
Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), and Barrett Duke, the ERLC's vice president for public policy and research, signed with 37 other religious leaders -- including Catholics, Anglicans, Methodists and Lutherans -- an open letter to U.S. citizens.
In the letter, they "encourage all people of good will to protect marriage as the union between one man and one woman, and to consider carefully the far-reaching consequences for the religious freedom of all Americans if marriage is redefined.
"We especially urge those entrusted with the public good to support laws that uphold the time-honored definition of marriage, and so avoid threatening the religious freedom of countless institutions and citizens in this country. Marriage and religious freedom are both deeply woven into the fabric of this nation."
Land and many of the signers also had joined together in a December 2010 open letter that urged Americans to stand together to defend the traditional understanding of marriage for the good of society. The latest letter focuses on the threats to religious liberty from the legalization of homosexual "marriage."
Changing the definition of marriage will have as one of its effects "the interference with the religious freedom of those who continue to affirm the true definition of marriage," according to the letter.
The religious leaders say the "most urgent peril" in legalizing same-sex "marriage" is "forcing or pressuring both individuals and religious organizations -- throughout their operations, well beyond religious ceremonies -- to treat same-sex sexual conduct as the moral equivalent of marital sexual conduct."
They point to church-state conflicts that already have occurred when those with convictions opposed to homosexual "marriage" resisted laws that legalized such unions. Those clashes will continue to occur as "same-sex" marriage advances legally, the signers say. They give as examples the following "sorts of situations" that have occurred already:
-- "[R]eligious adoption services that place children exclusively with married couples would be required by law to place children with persons of the same sex who are civilly 'married.'
-- "Religious marriage counselors would be denied their professional accreditation for refusing to provide counseling in support of same-sex 'married' relationships.
-- "Religious employers who provide special health benefits to married employees would be required by law to extend those benefits to same-sex 'spouses.'
-- "Religious employers would also face lawsuits for taking any adverse employment action -- no matter how modest -- against an employee for the public act of obtaining a civil 'marriage' with a member of the same sex."
The signers say revising the legal definition of marriage will change thousands of laws.
The signers included Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals; Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference; George Wood, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, and William Roberts, national commander of The Salvation Army.
Among others endorsing the letter were leaders of Anglican, Lutheran, Pentecostal, Wesleyan, Free Methodist, Evangelical Free, Christian and Missionary Alliance, General Baptist, Nazarene, Brethren, Congregational, Vineyard, Jewish and Mormon groups.
Six states and the District of Columbia have legalized homosexual "marriage," and there are efforts in others to achieve the same result. The six states are Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Iowa. There also is an attempt in Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, a 1996 law that defines marriage for federal purposes as between a man and a woman and gives states the option of not recognizing another state's gay "marriages."
The Jan. 12 letter is titled "Marriage and Religious Freedom: Fundamental Goods That Stand or Fall Together." The document and the list of signers, which were released by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, may be accessed online at http://bit.ly/wPiEwl.
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Tom Strode is Washington bureau chief for Baptist Press. With reporting by Michael Foust, associate editor of Baptist Press.
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SBC DIGEST: GuideStone 2055 Fund; Dead Sea Scrolls; New Hope books via Nook
by Staff
Date: January 13, 2012 - Friday
DALLAS (BP) -- GuideStone Funds has announced the launch of its MyDestination 2055 Fund as part of its date target funds.
The various MyDestination funds are managed to and through specific target dates in 10-year increments, allowing investors to choose the fund with the target year closest to their planned retirement date.
Like all of GuideStone's date target funds, the MyDestination 2055 Fund, contains a diversified asset allocation that gradually becomes more conservative as participants approach, and move through, retirement.
"We continually strive to provide products and services that best meet the needs of our participants," said John R. Jones, president of GuideStone Funds and chief operating officer of GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. "By adding the MyDestination 2055 Fund to our line of date target funds, we're continuing our mission to enhance the financial security of younger investors with an option that may align more closely with their retirement planning needs.
Participants who do not select their investment allocation themselves are defaulted to the MyDestination fund with the date closest to their 65th birthday. For some participants, the new MyDestination 2055 Fund may more accurately reflect their planned retirement date.
Participants can reallocate by visiting www.GuideStone.org/MDF or by calling a GuideStone customer relations specialist at 1-888-98-GUIDE (1-888-984-8433).
Investors who want to learn more about the MyDestination 2055 Fund can review its Fund Fact Sheet at www.GuideStoneFunds.org/Funds. GuideSt
$1M FOR DEAD SEA SCROLLS EXHIBIT -- Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has announced that Gary and Stephanie Loveless of Houston have agreed to be the premier sponsor of the "Dead Sea Scrolls & the Bible" exhibition coming to Fort Worth, Texas, in July.
"The Lord has graciously blessed us," Loveless said of the $1 million gift, "and we are honored to support the ministry of an institution that is committed to the inerrancy of the Bible, which these Dead Sea Scroll fragments affirm."
Loveless, who serves on the seminary's board of trustees, is founder and chief executive of Houston-based Square Mile Energy. The couple also provided the lead gift for the initial acquisition of Dead Sea Scroll fragments by the seminary in 2010.
In 1947, Bedouins discovered the scrolls in caves overlooking the Dead Sea near the ancient city of Qumran east of Jerusalem. Nearly 10 years of excavation in the caves produced fragments from approximately 825 to 870 separate scrolls containing biblical manuscripts, biblical manuscripts with commentary, apocryphal manuscripts and extra-biblical literature.
The Dead Sea Scrolls have made a profound impact on biblical studies, especially in the area of scribal transmission. Dating back to the time of Christ, the documents pre-date the Masoretic Text of Hebrew Scriptures by 1,000 years and demonstrate the accuracy of scribal transmission over the centuries.
The Dead Sea Scrolls & the Bible exhibition will run from July 2012 – January 2013 in the seminary's new MacGorman Chapel and Performing Arts Center. More information can be found at www.SeeTheScrolls.com.
NEW HOPE BOOKS VIA NOOK -- Dozens of titles from New Hope Publishers are now available for the Nook. With free Nook apps from New Hope, its books can be read on Android, iPhone, iPad, Mac or PC devices.
Among New Hope's 130-plus titles are "Orphanology: Awakening to Gospel-Centered Adoption and Orphan Care," "Not in My Town: Exposing and Ending Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery," "Live a Praying Life!" and six fiction titles from Kathi Macias.
New Hope, which represents 80-plus authors, is the trade publishing imprint for WMU in Birmingham, Ala., a missions auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention. For more information, visit www.NewHopeDigital.com.
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Compiled by Baptist Press staff.
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CULTURE DIGEST: States shatter record for abortion restrictions; ...
by Staff
Date: January 13, 2012 - Friday
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- State restrictions on abortion reached a yearly record of 92 in 2011, according to a Jan. 5 release from the Guttmacher Institute.
The total far surpassed the previous high of 34, which was achieved in 2005.
Michael New, an expert on abortion-related state laws, gave several reasons -- in addition to Republican electoral gains in 2010 -- for the huge increase in such laws.
Regarding long-term trends, New said, "[S]ince the mid-1990s, the Republican party has become a more uniformly pro-life party, so when Republicans possess unified control of government, they face fewer internal obstacles to the passage of pro-life laws. Also, many recent Republican political victories have occurred in Southern and Midwestern states where Democrats have historically controlled the state legislatures, and newly elected Republican majorities have succeeded in passing pro-life laws in a number of these states, including Alabama and Michigan."
New, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, also cited these "circumstantial factors":
-- "Eight states responded to ... Obamacare by banning abortion coverage in new insurance exchanges.
-- "Technological developments prompted five states to ban the use of telemedicine for the provision of abortion medication." Telemedicine, or webcam, abortions occur when doctors at remote sites counsel by means of videoconferencing women seeking abortions and dispense the two-drug abortion method RU 486 to them without being in their physical presence.
-- "[T]he Live Action Films video series, coupled with fiscal shortfalls, ... resulted in nine states cutting funding to Planned Parenthood."
Undercover videos released by Live Action in early 2011 showed Planned Parenthood employees demonstrating a willingness to assist self-confessed sex traffickers whose prostitutes were purported to be in their early teens.
The Guttmacher Institute formerly was affiliated with the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. While the organization continues to support abortion rights, its statistics often are cited by both pro-life and pro-choice advocates.
BARNA EXPLORES WHAT PEOPLE EXPERIENCE IN CHURCH -- David Kinnaman, president of Barna Group, said his researchers found that many churchgoers connect with God and others at church, but that's not the whole story.
"Millions of active participants find their church experiences to be lacking," Kinnaman said in a study released Jan. 9. "Entering the New Year, consider spending time thinking and praying how your faith community can identify, plan and measure a deeper, more holistic set of experiences and outcomes so that people are not mere observers of ministry but genuine participants."
Among Barna's findings:
-- 66 percent of churchgoers surveyed said they have had "a real and personal connection" with God while attending church.
-- 61 percent of churchgoers said they could not remember a significant or important new insight or understanding related to faith from their most recent church visit.
-- 68 percent said when they attend church they feel "part of a group of people who are united in their beliefs and who take care of each other in practical ways."
-- Older adults generally report the most favorable experiences at churches while those 18 to 27 are significantly less likely to describe positive outcomes while attending churches.
For more information, visit barna.org.
NUCLEAR FAMILY IMPROVES BOYS' BEHAVIOR -- An analysis of 20 years of school suspension rates nationwide shows that the greatest influence on boys' behavior at school is not the type of school they attend or teacher they have but the type of home in which they're being raised.
Researchers at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business found that boys being raised in intact homes with both parents had the least behavioral problems and school suspensions, while those being raised by single mothers had the most. However, this was not found to be the case among girls.
Glenn T. Stanton, director of Global Family Formation Studies at Focus on the Family, said intact families are the best for children of either gender.
"This supports over three decades of consistent research showing that kids who grow up in a home with their married parents tend to do better in all measures of educational attainment than their peers being raised in single, divorced and cohabiting-parent homes," he said. "This is true from everything from grade-point average, behavioral issues, high school graduation and going on to graduate from college. Moms and dads both matter here, as well as the type of relationship between them."
DIVORCE RATE UP SINCE IRAQ WAR -- A study released Jan. 2 by the nonprofit group Family Life shows that since the Iraq War began 10 years ago, the divorce rate among military service members has shot up by 42 percent.
Dennis Rainey, Family Life founder and president, said in a statement that the first 90 days of a deployment are the most crucial because that's when couples develop new habits that set the tone of their marriages.
But Corie Weathers, a licensed professional counselor who is the wife of an Army chaplain stationed in Georgia and the mother of two, said the first 90 days after a soldier comes home are just as crucial.
"The younger soldiers don't have coping skills to deal with what they saw in battle, so they come home and get into video games, pornography and social media," she said. "Women develop this mentality that says, 'I don't want to relinquish control, even though I really want you to take it from me.'"
Reintegration -- which can take up to a full year -- is a key time to take advantage of a chaplain-led military marriage retreat.
"You've got to get to know each other again, so the first 90 days are when we try to throw in a retreat, to learn new coping and communication skills," Weathers said. "It's like hitting the reset button."
EGG DONORS KEPT IN DARK ON RESEARCH -- Many American fertility clinics do not disclose to women who donate eggs that embryos from those eggs may be used in destructive research.
A new survey of 100 clinics found only 20 of the 66 that said they perform research on leftover embryos informed donors about such research, even on consent forms, Reuters News Service reported. In addition, only three of the 38 clinics that use embryos specifically in stem-cell research informed donors their embryos might be a part of the lethal experimentation.
The extraction of stem cells from embryos results in the destruction of the tiny human beings.
Eggs are taken from women either for their own fertility treatment or to help others become pregnant. Though women may be paid well for egg donations, the procedure can cause a variety of health problems for donors.
Donors should be informed by clinics if the embryos from their eggs may be used in research, the study's authors said, according to the Reuters report on Dec. 29.
Bioethics specialist Wesley Smith agreed.
"This is a profound violation of trust," Smith wrote on his blog. "Women risk their health and future fertility -- and in very rare cases, lose their lives -- to allow others to bear their children. They have a right to know if some of the embryos made from their eggs, which after all, are their biological progeny, could instead be destroyed for an instrumental purpose, an issue that could be material ... in the decision of some to become donors. ... [T]oo often egg donors (or sellers) are seen by IVF clinics as mere means to an end."
The study was published in the journal Fertility and Sterility.
KILLER OF GIRLFRIEND, UNBORN BABY GIVEN 25 YEARS -- A New York City man who killed his girlfriend and their unborn son on the due date was sentenced Jan. 4 to imprisonment for 25 years to life.
Derrick Redd, 38, stabbed Niasha DeLain, 25, repeatedly Oct. 25, 2008, the day their son Aidan was to be born. Queens prosecutor Eugene Reibstein described it as "a crime of almost unimaginable viciousness," according to the New York Daily News.
DeLain's mother, Towanda Wimms, is seeking passage by the New York legislature of a bill to treat the killing of an unborn child during an attack on his mother as murder.
PRIESTS FOR LIFE OFFERS APPROACH TO CLOSING CLINICS -- Priests for Life -- a nationwide, pro-life organization -- has announced a four-part strategy for 2012 that it hopes will result in the closing of many abortion clinics and the imprisonment of many abortion doctors.
Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, said in a Jan. 9 written statement the approach is:
-- "[U]ncover the ways abortionists break the law and get them punished for it;
-- "[R]eveal the nature of the abortion procedure itself;
-- "[S]how the harm abortion does to the very people the abortion industry claims to serve;
-- "[P]ray more intensely than ever for abortion to end."
"As I have said since I began my work with Priests for Life in 1993, our job is to exploit the weaknesses of the abortion industry, which is collapsing under its own weight," Pavone said. "The evil it does cannot withstand the light of human conscience."
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Compiled by Baptist Press Washington bureau chief Tom Strode, assistant editor Erin Roach and World News Service.
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FIRST-PERSON (Richard Land): A refreshing slam-dunk for religious liberty
by Richard Land
Date: January 13, 2012 - Friday
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- There is great cause for rejoicing today in our nation because of a tremendous decision by the U.S. Supreme Court upholding its affirmation of both the Establishment and the Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment.
The court's opinion in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission emphasizes what all 12 federal appeals courts have said at various times previously about "ministerial exception" and now underscores it with an exclamation point with a unanimous 9-0 Supreme Court decision, a rarity these days on a deeply philosophically split court.
The case in question centered on a former teacher who claimed her dismissal from a church school affiliated with the Missouri Synod Lutherans was in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
This court decision is a refreshing slam-dunk for America's constitutionally secured rights of religious freedom and religious expression.
It is a landmark ruling, which perhaps is the most significant positive decision in affirming our religious liberties in the past 20 years.
The Wall Street Journal, normally not known for hyperbole, said it was a "banner day," noting the ruling was a "crushing rebuke to the Obama administration."
The U.S. Justice Department had argued the teacher, who was "called" -- that is, religiously affiliated with the church school -- should not have been terminated. The Justice Department argued the school should reinstate the teacher, give her back pay and pay damages. The court's nine justices did not buy the Justice Department's deeply flawed argument that churches were no different than social clubs in respect to their First Amendment rights. The Supreme Court's unanimous ruling delivered yet another setback to the Obama administration's Justice Department.
In the court's opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts said the government cannot meddle in a religious institution's employment decisions. Such an action, he wrote, "intrudes upon more than a mere employment decision. Such action interferes with the internal governance of the church, depriving the church of control over the selection of those who will personify its beliefs" as well as "the right to shape its own faith and mission through its appointments."
The Supreme Court's decision rightfully affirms that the autonomy of churches, synagogues, temples and other places of worship and any educational institutions affiliated with them are guaranteed in the constitution. The Obama administration sought to place churches in the same category as "social clubs" in determining the legality of employment actions, arguing the First Amendment has nothing to do with a church or other faith organization's right to hire or fire employees.
The court disagreed, saying the First Amendment gives "special solicitude to the rights of religious organizations." Indeed! Our forefathers never intended for religious organizations to be treated like secular institutions, which is why they specifically mentioned religion in the amendment's text.
The First Amendment exists to protect religious organizations from government interference and to guarantee Americans' free exercise of religion. Our nation's Founding Fathers firmly believed Americans should have the right to practice their faith according to the dictates of their own consciences.
This case is a tremendous victory for religious freedom. The fact that all nine justices agreed should not be lost on us. This decision demonstrates that there is an ideological consensus across the judicial spectrum from the left to the right on this issue, and that consensus is completely at odds with the Obama administration and Attorney General Eric Holder's Justice Department.
It should be also noted that a small Lutheran church and school took on the full might of the federal government's legal machinery and won. As Deano Ware, the lead attorney for the school, said: "For six years I fought the government, sacrificing my practice and livelihood because I believed the government had no right to choose teachers for our small school. ... In the end, we showed up at the steps of the Supreme Court with our sling and stone, in the company of the Becket Fund and the greater community of faith, fought the government and won. This is a great day for all Americans of every of faith and all freedom-loving citizens."
It is difficult for someone like me, who grew up in the 1960s, to believe that in 2012 the most conservative branch of the federal government is the Supreme Court of the United States. But it is so. Well done, justices. As The Wall Street Journal proclaimed in its headline, "Hosannas for the Court."
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Richard Land is president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp).
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FIRST-PERSON (Kelly Boggs): On Roe's anniversary, remembering 50 million killed
by Kelly Boggs
Date: January 13, 2012 - Friday
ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP) -- Thirty-nine years ago the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Roe v. Wade. The justices decided 7-2 that the practice of abortion in America was a right protected by the Constitution and thus legal throughout the United States. The date was Jan. 22, 1973.
The specific date of the Roe decision deserves to be remembered as a day of infamy along with other tragic events like the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The Roe ruling also deserves to be compared to the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide. All are despicable atrocities.
Those who track the numbers report that more than 50 million preborn babies have had their lives snuffed out as a direct result of the Roe decision. Think about the death toll and then compare it with the 2,400 who were killed at Pearl Harbor and the 3,000 who lost their lives on Sept. 11.
Ponder the number of 50 million dead preborn children and contrast them with the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis, 1 million of whom were children. Also consider the Rwandan genocide, which took place in the spring of 1994, where between 800,000 and 1 million Tutsis were brutally slaughtered by their fellow countrymen, the Hutus.
Each historic event has been universally deemed a horrific calamity. Additionally, world leaders and historians have rightly declared these tragic events must always be remembered and studied so they are never repeated. The only exception is abortion.
Abortion supporters continue to not only support the Roe decision; they celebrate it as a victory for the "liberation" of women. What abortion advocates refuse to acknowledge is that this so-called "freedom" has come at the expense of preborn children -- many of them girls.
Feminist activist and abortion advocate Gloria Feldt summed up what she believes is the essence of the abortion debate by saying, "When you peel back the layers of the anti-choice motivation, it always comes back to two things: What is the nature and purpose of human sexuality? And second, what is the role of women in the world?"
Feldt continued, "Sex and the role of women are inextricably linked, because if you can separate sex from procreation, you have given women the ability to participate in society on an equal basis with men."
Ms. Feldt could not be more wrong in her summation for the motivation of those of who are pro-life. It has nothing to do with a woman's equality or a power struggle between the sexes. Individuals opposed to abortion on demand insist that human life is sacred and preborn children have an inalienable right to life.
Perhaps we need a refresher course in Biology 101. It is very evident from an anatomical point of view that a biological role given to women is child bearing. It is also quite obvious, for the same reasons, that men do not possess that ability.
Also obvious, since time immemorial, is that the primary purpose for sex, biologically speaking, is procreation. The two cannot be separated. The possible and/or likely fruit of any sexual union is the conception of a child -- regardless of attempts at birth control.
Feldt believes the practice of abortion is one way of separating procreation from sex. Abortion does not prevent conception, but it can destroy the fruit of a sexual union and prevent a child from being born. Feldt and pro-choicers are more than happy for preborn children to pay the price for a woman's so-called "liberation" and "equality."
The day the Supreme Court granted a person the "liberty" to take the life of a preborn baby for any reason, or for no reason, was a dark day in the history of the United States. As a result, over the last 39 years more than 50 million preborn babies have had their lives sacrificed on the altar of "liberation."
I will observe the anniversary of Roe v. Wade this year as a day of infamy on par with other dark dates on the calendar of history. Pearl Harbor, Sept. 11, the Holocaust, and the Rwandan genocide are horrific events in which millions of innocent people lost their lives. But the number of babies aborted since Jan. 22, 1973 is many more times the combined number of those who died in those atrocities.
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Kelly Boggs is a weekly columnist for Baptist Press and editor of the Baptist Message (www.baptistmessage.com), newsjournal of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp).
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EDITORIAL (Luis R. López): Indigencia
by Luis R. López
Date: January 13, 2012 - Friday
NOTA DEL EDITOR: La columna First-Person (De primera mano) es parte de la edición de hoy de BP en español. Para ver historias adicionales, vaya a
http://www.bpnews.net/espanol
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- Hace dos semanas, sentado en la sala de mi casa recibí la noticia de un tío que había experimentado un derrame cerebral. Lo tenían en terapia intensiva. Por varias horas no se notó ninguna reacción positiva. La voz del familiar que me lo comunicaba por teléfono trasmitía dolor y quebrantamiento. La trágica noticia me estremeció. Durante días agonizamos en la espera de una reacción. La vida de este ser querido podía terminar en cuestión de minutos u horas. Hay momentos y situaciones que nos estremecen. Nos hacen ver las cosas con la perspectiva correcta. Nos ayudan a reflexionar en lo frágil que es la vida.
Las luchas y dificultades son parte de este mundo. Las tormentas pueden llevarnos a los pies de la cruz o pueden sacar lo peor de nosotros mismos. A pesar que no es nuestra preferencia, en muchos casos las tormentas son la tierra que Dios usa para ayudarnos a crecer.
"Dios está en control" es fácil de decir, especialmente cuando es otra la persona la que está enfrentando la crisis. Reconocerlo y vivirlo es algo totalmente diferente. Nos preocupamos cuando sentimos que la situación no es manejable. Cada uno de nosotros quiere sentir la capacidad de "controlar" nuestras propias situaciones. En realidad, cuando reconocemos nuestra insuficiencia ante Dios es cuando comenzamos a experimentar Su gracia y paz. Nuestra necesidad e indigencia es lo que Dios muchas veces usa para llevarnos hacia El.
Pablo nos exhorta en Col. 2:6 "Por tanto, de la manera que recibisteis a Cristo Jesús el Señor, así andad en El." Necesitamos darnos cuenta que no podemos ganar las dádivas de Dios a través de nuestros propios esfuerzos. O las recibimos como un regalo o simplemente no las tenemos. La mayor bendición espiritual que recibimos es llegar a la certeza de que estamos desvalidos, destituidos. Hasta que no lleguemos allí, le bloqueamos a Dios Su capacidad de actuar. Dios no puede hacer nada por nosotros mientras pensemos que somos suficientes y que podemos con nosotros mismos. Tenemos que entrar en su reino a través de la puerta de la indigencia. Hemos sido destituidos de Su gloria. A Dios no le gustan los autosuficientes. De hecho, aborrece la arrogancia. Mientras que creamos que somos "ricos," especialmente en el área del orgullo o de la independencia, Dios no puede hacer nada por nosotros. Es sólo cuando tenemos hambre espiritual y sed de El que recibimos del Espíritu Santo.
Son los momentos como el descubrir la necesidad de un ser querido los que nos llevan a Él. Buscarle en oración y entregarle la vida de este tío fue abrir la puerta para que reconociera mi necesidad y Dios comenzara a actuar. ¡Oh, bendita necesidad que nos lleva a Jesús!
Él toma lo que está "más allá" de nosotros y lo sitúa "dentro" de nosotros. Cuando nos preocupamos por algo es porque precisamente eso no se lo hemos entregado totalmente a Él. Rendírselo por completo es nuestra mejor decisión y el inicio de descubrir su gracia. Esto es andar en el Espíritu. Inmediatamente, una vez aquello que estaba "más allá" llega y viene a ser puesto "dentro" de nosotros mismos. La paz que en un momento nos roba la tormenta llega cuando comenzamos a poner nuestros ojos en Aquel que es el comienzo y el fin de todo. El tío aun sigue bajo vigilancia médica. Ha salido del hospital. Todavía está recuperándose. Esperamos resultados de muchos exámenes que le han realizado. Oramos por él.
En el mundo físico, los indigentes son personas que carecen de vivienda adecuada y de ingresos propios, que viven en una situación de pobreza y marginación social. En pocas palabras, personas necesitadas. En el mundo espiritual, la indigencia es el reconocimiento de que somos seres extremadamente necesitados de Dios, pobres en espíritu. Necesitamos de Dios, su perdón, su fuerza y su gracia para vivir cada día.
La indigencia espiritual abre las puertas a la suficiencia del Dios todopoderoso. Cuando nos vaciamos de nosotros mismos y dejamos a Cristo vivir a través de nosotros es cuando andamos en la luz del Reino. De lo contrario, andamos llenos de nuestro ego y de nuestros pecados. Cristo ama al indigente.
Fraternalmente en Cristo,
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Luis R. López es el Director de LifeWay Español de LifeWay Church Resources en Nashville, Tenn. http://www.LifeWay.com/espanol.
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Iglesia hispana adopta el Programa Cooperativo
by Por Karen L. Willoughby
Date: January 13, 2012 - Friday
HYATTSVILLE, Md. (BP) -- "La belleza del Programa Cooperativo," como Rolando Castro lo ve desde la perspectiva de la iglesia, "es que se puede estar involucrado no importa lo grande que se sea, no importa la ubicación."
Castro, quien actualmente sirve como pastor interino en una congregación hispana del área metropolitana de Washington, añadió: "Usted puede estar involucrado en alcanzar al mundo con el mensaje del evangelio de Jesucristo."
Castro ha guiado a la Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana de Maryland de dar cero a misiones a dar un 10 por ciento de sus ofrendas a través del Programa Cooperativo para financiar misiones y ministerio a través de las convenciones del estado y de la Convención Bautista del Sur.
Cuando una iglesia se extiende más allá de su vecindario a través del Programa Cooperativo, puede llegar a involucrarse en misiones internacionales y en la iniciación de iglesias en Norte América, dijo Castro, al describir el dar al PC como "el primer paso en el incremento del envolvimiento en misiones, en evangelización."
"Creo que las iglesias deben gastar sus recursos -- realmente los recursos de Dios -- primero en el Reino y luego en ellas mismos," continuó Castro. "Esto es probablemente lo inverso en las iglesias cristianas de EE. UU. Si se está dando al Programa Cooperativo de esta manera, se puede decir que el 10 por ciento de su ingreso está yendo a misiones. Eso sería un muy buen punto para lanzar una mentalidad misionera en la iglesia.
"Si estamos dando, entonces el próximo paso es ir, y el siguiente paso es participar," dijo Castro, quien también coordina la iniciación y el evangelismo de la iglesia hispana para la Convención Bautista de Maryland/Delaware. "Usted necesita rendirse a tener una actitud misionera, y la primera cosa a rendir es el dinero.
"No creo que Dios nos esté dando sus recursos para pagar los recibos" solamente para los gastos de la iglesia, dijo.
Hace cerca de 10 años, un promedio de 200 personas participaban en los servicios dominicales de la Primera Iglesia Bautista, ubicada en Hyattsville, Maryland. Pero el número menguó con el tiempo, y por lo menos durante dos años la iglesia no tuvo pastor. Castro ocupaba el púlpito ocasionalmente, y cuando se le pidió que sirviera como pastor interino a largo plazo, él estuvo de acuerdo a hacerlo si le permitían dirigir como un pastor debiera hacerlo.
"Debido a que estaban listos a cambiar, estuvieron de acuerdo," dijo Castro. "Ahora parece que todos están en la misma sintonía. Realmente quieren ver que pase algo.
"Y no solamente evangelizar y que la gente se involucre en la iglesia, sino involucrarse en otra clase de misiones," dijo Castro, quien participa en la iniciación de iglesias además de sus responsabilidades pastorales.
A Castro le gustaría ver que algo similar a la transformación de la Primera Iglesia Bautista tome lugar en la convención de los dos estados, donde cerca de 30 iglesias adoran en español. Tres o cuatro más están en el proceso de organización, y una o dos están iniciando iglesias más activamente.
"Básicamente estamos buscando pastores desesperadamente," dijo Castro. "La necesidad es enorme. Estamos orando por un gran movimiento de iglesias, y tenemos confianza que el Señor va a multiplicar a su gente."
Cerca de 750.000 hispanos viven en el área metropolitana de Washington, y más de 75.000 viven en las tres áreas postales que rodean la Primera Iglesia Bautista, que es una de las quizá cinco iglesias que específicamente buscan alcanzar a la gente que habla español. Es una área mezclada de viviendas unifamiliares y altos edificios de apartamentos con 80 o más unidades por edificio.
"Estamos en las primeras etapas de lo que espero sea una fuerte relación con una escuela primaria de la comunidad," dijo Castro de una escuela que él describe como que tiene "grandes necesidades."
Los miembros de la iglesia planean proveer voluntarios para leerles a los niños, entrenar deportes apropiados a la edad y dar libros, abrigos y uniformes a los estudiantes.
"Solamente queremos ser una bendición a la escuela y a las familias de esa escuela," dijo Castro. "Ya estamos comprando 600 libros del presupuesto de la iglesia."
Este es un marcado cambio para una iglesia que en el pasado reciente luchaba para pagar sus recibos.
"Ahora ven lo que está para hacer," dijo Castro. "Esta es una iglesia que realmente desea ser parte de la vida bautista del sur. Ellos entienden que participar en la vida bautista del sur debe ser significante en cada nivel -- desde dar, ir y ser parte de la asociación local y la convención estatal."
La Primera Iglesia Bautista ha aprendido sobre los bautistas del sur a través de su pastor interino -- nacido en Costa Rica y espiritualmente renacido en una iglesia bautista. Cuando Castro se trasladó a Maryland en el 2003, su cuñada era parte de una iglesia bautista del sur que estaba buscando un iniciador de iglesias.
Castro no tenía educación ni entrenamiento en pastorear una iglesia o iniciar una iglesia, pero sabía que con el llamado de Dios venía el equipamiento de Dios. Él ha estado estudiando desde entonces, y ahora enseña clases bíblicas en el Instituto CanZion en Washington, donde interactúa rutinariamente con cristianos no afiliados a la CBS.
"No puedo entender que alguien no sea bautista del sur," dijo Castro. "Doctrinalmente somos muy buenos y también tenemos todos los recursos disponibles para nuestra iglesia... No puedo entender que alguien rechace ser parte de esta maravillosa denominación."
El edificio de la Primera Iglesia Bautista está entre los mayores desafíos que enfrenta la congregación.
"El lugar donde se reúnen tiene probablemente de 80 a 85 asientos," dijo Castro. "Ya tenemos 65, lo cual significa que solamente tenemos 20 asientos para la gente nueva que llegue; sabemos que podemos crecer; necesitamos un lugar más grande para crecer.
"Otro sueño: Quiero que ellos tengan grupos pequeños en sus hogares," dijo Castro. "Creo que es la única manera de crecer y probablemente ese será mi próximo gran proyecto para ellos."
El pensamiento de Castro se volvió a la segunda generación, y de ahí a otras etnias.
Para mucha gente joven, señaló, el español es su segundo idioma. "Lo que se necesita es desarrollar una iglesia en inglés y tener un lado multiétnico de la iglesia," dijo. "Creo que eso será enorme, porque el área en la que estamos es multiétnica y necesitamos reflejar eso en la iglesia.
"Si estamos dispuestos a extender el Reino, entonces tendremos suficiente para pagar los recibos," dijo Castro. "Lo puedo decir porque he experimentado esto por años: Nunca, nunca estarás corto de recursos para pagar tus recibos si estás extendiendo el Reino."
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Karen L. Willoughby es editora general del Louisiana Baptist Message, Dakota Baptist Connections y The Montana Baptist, publicaciones de noticias de esas convenciones estatales.
Obtenga los titulares de Baptist Press y las últimas noticias en Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) y en su correo electrónico (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp).
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AYUDA A HAITÍ: 2 años de cuidado, vidas cambiadas
by Por Holly McCrae
Date: January 13, 2012 - Friday
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haití (BP) -- Sonriendo a través de las lágrimas, Madame Maris agradece y besa a los voluntarios bautistas del sur cuando ellos le dan la llave de su nueva casa.
Durante casi dos años, la mujer haitiana de 70 años ha vivido en una carpa. Ella perdió a su esposo, dos sobrinos, un brazo y su casa en el terremoto del 12 de enero que sacudió Haití en 2010. Ahora, ella y su sobrina tienen la oportunidad de comenzar de nuevo.
El de ellas es uno de los muchos comienzos que los bautistas del sur han ayudado a proveer desde el terremoto de magnitud 7.0, el cual mató a 230.000 personas y dejó a millones más heridas, sin casa o ambas. A la fecha, los bautistas del sur han dado más de $11 millones en ayuda. Muchos se han ofrecido como voluntarios y han puesto sus habilidades al servicio para ayudar a los haitianos a recuperarse.
Al principio, los obreros ayudantes bautistas del sur se enfocaron en las necesidades más apremiantes -- cuidado médico, alimentos y albergue básico -- eso serviría como testimonio del amor de Cristo. Pero también buscaron soluciones de más largo tiempo para ayudar a los haitianos a romper el ciclo de dependencia que los mantiene atascados en la pobreza extrema.
Desde que el terremoto destruyó o dañó millones de casas, la vasta necesidad de casas capturó la atención de los planificadores de ayuda bautistas del sur. Desarrollaron un proyecto llamado "Reconstruya Haití," un esfuerzo conjunto de los haitianos y los bautistas del sur.
Para el tiempo en el que el proyecto de casas termine esta primavera, Reconstruya Haití habrá edificado cerca de 2.800 casas en 30 comunidades. La Junta de Misiones Internacionales, Respuesta Global Bautista, la Red de Ayuda en Desastres Bautista del Sur y la Convención Bautista de Florida han contribuido a la iniciativa.
"Esto suena como mucho, y es mucho en tan corto tiempo," dijo el misionero jubilado Carter Davis, quien ha trabajado con las iniciativas de ayuda en Haití desde el terremoto. "Pero el efecto real es visto cuando reconozcamos cuántas personas están ahora en casas sustanciales y no en carpas o en otros albergues." Debido a que el promedio de las familias haitianas es de seis personas, un estimado de 16.800 haitianos están ahora en casas estables. Muchas de estas fueron construidas en sus fundamentos originales, y permitieron así que las familias que poseían terreno fueran reubicadas y no perdieran su propiedad. Estos proyectos también revivieron los negocios locales y pusieron a los haitianos a trabajar de nuevo.
"Casi todo el trabajo fue hecho por los haitianos," dijo Davis. "Esto proveyó ingreso a muchos y estimuló la economía local al comprar los materiales en los almacenes locales."
"Fue un esfuerzo cooperativo," convino Jeff Palmer, de Repuesta Global Baptista. "Los bautistas haitianos y [otros] trabajadores haitianos, realmente fueron los que construyeron la mayoría de las casas más que los equipos voluntarios. Pero los equipos fueron buenos en venir hasta aquí e interactuar, compartir su fe, además de darle ánimo a la gente local que 'Eh, a alguien le importamos, y vienen de afuera para ayudarnos a reconstruir nuestras casas.'"
Los bautistas de Florida y de Haití pudieron hacer significantes contribuciones, en parte debido al compañerismo de 17 años que los bautistas de Florida han mantenido en el país, señaló Palmer. Justo en la coyuntura de la iniciativa Florida-Haití se comenzaron 124 nuevas iglesias, 56 edificios de iglesias fueron reparados y 1.000 casas serán construidas para el tiempo en que Reconstruya Haití empaque en marzo.
El terremoto fue una sorpresa para Haití y para el mundo, pero la respuesta de los bautistas de Florida no lo ha sido, señaló Craig Culbreth, estratega líder del grupo de apoyo misional de la Convención Bautista de Florida.
"Los bautistas de Florida han estado fuertemente involucrados con Haití desde abril de 1995. Las iniciativas de los bautista de Florida después del terremoto -- alimentación, ayuda médica, reconstrucción de iglesias y construcción de casas -- estuvieron todas basadas en el fundamento de 17 años de trabajo," dijo Culbreth. "Es algo asombroso ver lo que Dios puede poner de manifiesto de un desastre. Él pudo usar a los haitianos junto con dedicados voluntarios bautistas del sur para cambiar miles de vidas -- algunas para siempre."
Usar materiales locales les asegura a los haitianos que pueden continuar construyendo y expandiendo esas casas después de que los bautistas del sur se hayan ido, señaló Palmer.
"Hemos tratado de romper el ciclo de dependencia y derecho diciéndole a la gente receptora de esta buena voluntad y ayuda que ellos obtuvieron las mismas habilidades y capacidades," dijo. "El trabajo continuará, pero los haitianos serán los que lo completen."
PROPIEDAD HAITIANA
Que los haitianos tomen propiedad de los esfuerzos de reconstrucción es uno de los más importantes cambios que Palmer ha visto durante los dos años del proyecto.
"En algunas comunidades, había personas en las áreas del terremoto sentadas y esperando que alguien llegara a resolverles los problemas," dijo. "Cuando obtuvimos que las comunidades se involucraran en ayudarse los unos a los otros, descubrimos que empezaron a pensar en la comunidad primero y en ellos mismos después. Y ver la iglesia y las comunidades llegar juntas, esas son maneras en las que pueden ver un impacto más profundo que solamente obteniendo casas."
Los obreros bautistas del sur animaron a las iglesias bautistas haitianas a tomar el liderazgo en identificar a los receptores de la ayuda. Debido a que los recursos eran limitados, esas iglesias comenzaron a enfocarse en la gente con las mayores necesidades.
"Lo que descubrimos una y otra vez fue que ellos estaban escogiendo huérfanos," dijo Palmer. "Ellos estaban escogiendo a muchos de aquellos a los que nosotros les estaríamos dando prioridad. Vimos una real transición de dependencia a más valores del Reino."
"Hubo un gran apoyo para proveer primero a las viudas y madres con niños," añadió Davis. "Hubo alguna tendencia de algunos de proveer solamente a los miembros de la iglesia, pero cuando pasó el tiempo, vi más y más el deseo de proveer para otros en necesidad en las comunidades. Este es el concepto que les acentuamos a los pastores y a las iglesias -- reconocer que Jesús se preocupaba por todos y necesitamos su ejemplo."
Davis recordó la generosidad de una de las iglesias haitianas en un pueblo que no fue directamente afectado por el terremoto. Muchos de los miembros ya habían alojado a familiares desplazados de Puerto Príncipe, pero la iglesia quería hacer más.
"[La congregación] preguntó si podíamos ayudar proveyendo financiación de la iglesia para construir casas en un terreno que la iglesia poseía y les darían [a los sobrevivientes del terremoto]" dijo Davis. "Construimos 50 casas en este terreno."
AYUDADOS EN MUCHAS OTRAS MANERAS
Aunque el alojamiento fue una de las mayores necesidades después del terremoto, los bautistas del sur ayudaron de muchas otras maneras también.
Los misioneros y los voluntarios donaron suministros -- como bancas, escritorios y pizarrones -- a siete escuelas en apuros. También reconstruyeron edificios dañados, repararon techos e instalaron baños para que miles de niños pudieran regresar a la escuela.
Grupos de mujeres a través de EE. UU. cosieron ropa para los huérfanos mientras iglesias y otras organizaciones bautistas proveyeron comida y medicina para niños necesitados. Los misioneros y los voluntarios inclusive comenzaron una pequeña finca y huertas para ayudar a algunos huérfanos a sostenerse por ellos mismos.
Un medico bautista de Alabama dio $10.000 para la compra de un terreno para construir casas para viudas. En un enclave de personas sordas, los bautistas proveyeron el capital inicial para ayudar a comenzar o recomenzar micro-negocios.
A pesar de todo lo que se ha logrado, Haití todavía enfrenta años de recuperación.
"Para muchas personas, las cosas han mejorado y están saliendo adelante con sus vidas," dijo Delores York, misionera de la Junta de Misiones Internacionales en Haití. "Para otros miles que todavía están en carpas o albergues temporales, la ayuda no ha llegado. Todavía hay problemas de desempleo y para sobrevivir día a día. El cólera viene en oleadas, junto con la malaria, tifoidea, tuberculosis y muchas otras enfermedades."
La iniciativa de ayuda en Haití está concluyendo con los equipos de voluntarios programados para salir en marzo. Aun cuando muchos haitianos permanecen en necesidad, York y otros obreros creen que la generosidad de los bautistas del sur continuará animando a los haitianos cuando ellos reconstruyan sus vidas en las comunidades.
"Han pasado dos años desde el terremoto, y los bautistas del sur han dado generosamente para ayudar en otras muchas calamidades en el mundo," dijo York. Su generosidad ha cambiada la vida de muchos en muchas diferentes maneras. Aun cuando vemos el fin de este trabajo llegando a su final, no será el fin de la obra bautista del sur en Haití."
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Holly McCrae es corresponsal internacional de Respuesta Global Bautista, en la web en www.gobgr.com.
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EVOLUCIÓN: Pastores dudosos, Investigaciones LifeWay reporta; pastores se dividen respecto a la edad de la tierra
by Por David Roach
Date: January 13, 2012 - Friday
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- Los pastores abrumadoramente creen que Dios no usó la evolución para crear a los humanos y creen que Adán y Eva fueron personas literales, de acuerdo a una encuesta realizada por Investigaciones LifeWay.
La encuesta a 1.000 pastores protestantes estadounidenses, divulgada el 9 de enero, también descubrió que los ministros están casi equitativamente divididos sobre si la tierra tiene miles de años.
Cuando se les pidió que respondieran a la declaración: "Creo que Dios usó la evolución para crear a las personas," un 73 por ciento de los pastores difiere, con un 64 por ciento que fuertemente difiere y un 8 por ciento que difiere un poco. Un 12 por ciento concuerda de alguna manera y concuerda fuertemente. Un 4 por ciento no está seguro.
En respuesta a la declaración: "Creo que Adán y Eva fueron personas literales," un 74 por ciento concuerda fuertemente y un 8 por ciento concuerda un poco. Un 6 por ciento difiere un poco, un 11 por ciento difiere fuertemente y un 1 por ciento no está seguro.
"Recientes discusiones han señalado dudas acerca de Adán y Eva como personas literales, la edad de la tierra y otros asuntos sobre el origen," dijo Ed Stetzer, vice presidente de investigación y desarrollo de ministerio para Recursos Cristianos LifeWay de la Convención Bautista del Sur. "Pero los pastores protestantes son abrumadoramente creacionistas y creen en Adán y Eva literales."
Con base en una encuesta de Gallup de diciembre del 2010, los pastores son más creacionistas (en referencia a la creencia de que todas las cosas fueron creadas sustancialmente como ahora existen y se relata en los primeros capítulos de Génesis y no evolucionaron gradualmente) que el público general estadounidense.
Cuarenta por ciento de los estadounidenses cree que Dios creó a los humanos en su forma presente, un 38 por ciento dice que Dios usó la evolución para desarrollar a los humanos y un 16 por ciento cree que el hombre evolucionó sin que Dios tuviera parte en el proceso, de acuerdo a Gallup.
En la encuesta de LifeWay Research, cerca de uno de cinco pastores concuerda en que la mayoría de su congregación cree en la evolución. Eso incluye un 10 por ciento que concuerda fuertemente y un 9 por ciento que concuerda un poco. Una mayoría (62 por ciento) difiere fuertemente y un 13 por ciento difiere un poco.
Solamente un tercio de los pastores (36 por ciento) enseña sobre la creación y la evolución más de una vez al año. Eso incluye un 28 por ciento que enseña sobre el tema varias veces al año, 4 por ciento que enseña sobre eso una vez al mes y 3 por ciento que lo hace varias veces al mes. Un 26 por ciento enseña sobre ello una vez al año mientras que 29 por ciento lo hace raramente. Un 8 por ciento nunca enseña sobre la creación y la evolución.
Entre las diferencias estadísticamente significantes:
-- Los pastores en el noreste son más propensos que sus contrapartes en cualquier otra región a concordar más fuertemente en que Dios usó la evolución para crear a la gente. Mientras que un 25 por ciento de los pastores en el noreste concuerda fuertemente. Solamente un 13 por ciento en el oeste, 12 por ciento en el medio-oeste y 8 por ciento en el sur sienten similarmente.
-- Los pastores de iglesias grandes son menos propensos a creer en la evolución que aquellos de congregaciones pequeñas. Solamente un 4 por ciento de los pastores de iglesias con 250 o más de asistencia concuerdan fuertemente en que Dios usó la evolución para crear a los humanos. En comparación, un 13 por ciento en iglesias con asistencia de 0-49, 14 por ciento con 50-99 y 12 por ciento con 100-249 sienten lo mismo.
-- Los pastores que se consideran protestantes tradicionales son más propensos que los evangélicos a creer en la evolución. Entre aquellos que se identifican como tradicionales, un 25 por ciento concuerda fuertemente en que Dios usó la evolución para crear a los humanos. Solamente un 8 por ciento de los evangélicos concuerda fuertemente.
-- Los pastores que indicaron que eran evangélicos son más propensos que sus colegas tradicionales a concordar fuertemente en que Adán y Eva fueron personas literales (82 por ciento contra 50 por ciento).
-- Los pastores con títulos universitarios de especialidad son más propensos a diferir fuertemente en que Adán y Eva fueron personas literales que aquellos cuyo nivel más alto de educación es una licenciatura (16 por ciento contra 2 por ciento).
-- Geográficamente, los pastores en el sur son más propensos a diferir más fuertemente en que la mayoría de su congregación cree en la evolución. Mientras un 69 por ciento de los pastores sureños difieren fuertemente, 47 por ciento de los del noreste, 60 por ciento en el medio-oeste y 56 por ciento en el oeste sienten similarmente.
LA EDAD DE LA TIERRA
En respuesta a la declaración: "Creo que la tierra tiene aproximadamente 6.000 años," un 34 por ciento de los pastores difirió fuertemente. Sin embargo, un 30 por ciento concordó fuertemente. Un 9 por ciento difirió un poco, y un 16 por ciento concordó un poco.
"La edad de la tierra es el único asunto en esta encuesta en el cual los pastores están más equitativamente divididos," dijo Stetzer. "Pero para muchos de los pastores, creer en una tierra más antigua no es lo mismo que creer en la evolución. Muchos pastores que creen que Dios creó a los humanos en su forma presente también creen que la tierra tiene más de 6.000 años."
La única diferencia estadísticamente significante fue que los pastores más jóvenes forman el grupo por edad que es menos propenso a diferir fuertemente en que la tierra tiene 6.000 años. Mientras que un 24 por ciento en edades de 18 a 44 difiere fuertemente, 33 por ciento en edades de 45 a 54, 38 por ciento en edades de 55 a 64 y 38 por ciento de 65 en adelante sienten lo mismo.
Aquellos con títulos universitarios de especialidades son más propensos a diferir fuertemente en que la tierra tiene 6.000 años que los pastores con un máximo de licenciatura (42 por ciento contra 18 por ciento).
Metodología: La encuesta telefónica, conducida en mayo del 2011, tomó muestras al azar de iglesias protestantes. Cada entrevista fue conducida con el pastor principal, ministro o sacerdote llamado y las respuestas fueron pesadas para reflejar la distribución geográfica de las iglesias protestantes. La muestra completa de 1.000 entrevistas telefónicas provee un 95 por ciento de seguridad de que el error de muestra no excede más o menos de un 3.2 por ciento. Los márgenes de erros son más altos en los subgrupos.
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David Roach es pastor y escritor en Shelbyville, Kentucky.
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COMPENDIO CULTURA: Estados hacen pedazos récord de restricciones al aborto; ...
by Por el Staff
Date: January 13, 2012 - Friday
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) –- Las restricciones estatales al aborto alcanzaron un récord de 92 en el 2011, de acuerdo a una divulgación del 5 de enero del Instituto Guttmacher.
El total sobrepasó bastante al anterior más alto de 34, el cual se logró en el 2005.
Michael New, experto en leyes relacionadas con el aborto, dio varias razones -- además de los ganes electorales republicanos en el 2010 -- para el inmenso incremento en tales leyes.
En relación a las tendencias de largo término, New dijo: Desde mediados de los 1990s, el partido republicano se ha vuelto un partido más uniformemente pro-vida, así que cuando los republicanos poseen el control unificado del gobierno, enfrentan menos obstáculos internos para aprobar las leyes pro-vida. También, varias recientes victorias políticas republicanas han sucedido en los estados sureños y del medio-oeste donde los demócratas históricamente han controlado las legislaturas estatales, y las recién elegidas mayorías republicanas han tenido éxito en la aprobación de muchas leyes pro-vida, incluyendo Alabama y Michigan.
New, profesor asistente de ciencias políticas de la Universidad de Michigan-Dearborn, también citó estos "factores circunstanciales":
-- "Ocho estados respondieron a la amenaza presentada por el Obamacare prohibiendo la cobertura de los abortos en un nuevo intercambio de seguros.
-- "Los desarrollos tecnológicos impulsaron a cinco estados a prohibir el uso de la telemedicina para la provisión de medicamentos para el aborto.
-- "La serie de videos de Live Action Films, acoplada con las deficiencias del fiscal, ...resultó en nueve estados que le cortaron fondos a Planned Parenthood."
Videos clandestinos divulgados por Live Action a principios del 2011 mostraron a empleados de Planned Parenthood que mostraban disposición para ayudar a traficantes confesos de sexo cuyas prostitutas parecían estar en su temprana adolescencia.
El Instituto Guttmacher anteriormente estuvo afiliado a la Federación Planned Parenthood de América. Aunque la organización continúa apoyando el derecho al aborto, sus estadísticas frecuentemente son citadas tanto por los partidarios pro-vida como por los pro-elección.
BARNA EXPLORA LO QUE LA GENTE EXPERIMENTA EN LA IGLESIA -- David Kinnaman, presidente del Grupo Barna, dijo que sus investigadores encontraron que muchos feligreses se conectan con Dios y con otros en la iglesia, pero esa no es toda la historia.
"Millones de participantes activos encuentran que su iglesia experimenta carencias," dijo Kinnaman en un estudio divulgado el 9 de enero. "Al entrar al nuevo año, considere pasar tiempo pensando y orando cómo su comunidad de fe puede identificarse, planee y calcule experiencias más profundas, más holísticas y resultados de manera que la gente no sea solamente observadora del ministerio sino participe genuinamente."
Entre las conclusiones de Barna:
-- 66 por ciento de los feligreses encuestados dijeron que tienen una "real y personal conexión" con Dios cuando asisten a la iglesia.
-- Casi la mitad de los encuestados dijeron que sus vidas no habían cambiado en nada como resultado de ir a la iglesia.
-- 61 por ciento de los feligreses dijeron que no podían recordar un nuevo entendimiento significativo o importante, o un entendimiento relacionado con la fe de su más reciente visita a la iglesia.
-- 68 por ciento dijeron que cuando asistían a la iglesia se sentían "parte de un grupo de personas que están unidas en sus creencias y que se cuidan unas a otras en maneras prácticas."
-- Los adultos mayores generalmente reportan las experiencias más favorables en la iglesia mientras aquellos entre los 18 y 27 años son significantemente menos propensos a describir resultados positivos cuando asisten a la iglesia.
Para obtener más información, visite barna.org.
LA FAMILIA NUCLEAR MEJORA EL COMPORTAMIENTO DE LOS CHICOS -- Un análisis de 20 años del promedio de suspensiones escolares en toda la nación muestra que la gran influencia en el comportamiento de los chicos varones en la escuela no proviene del tipo de escuela a la que asisten o del maestro que tienen sino del tipo de hogar en el que están siendo criados.
Investigadores de la Universidad de Chicago Booth School of Business encontraron que los chicos varones criados en hogares intactos con ambos padres tienen los menores problemas de comportamiento y suspensiones escolares, mientras que aquellos criados por madres solteras tienen los mayores problemas. Sin embargo, este no fue el caso encontrado entre las chicas.
Glenn T. Stanton, director de Estudios Globales de Formación de la Familia de Enfoque a la Familia, dijo que las familias intactas son las mejores para los niños de cualquiera de los dos géneros.
"Esto apoya durante tres décadas de investigación consistente que los niños que crecen en un hogar con sus padres casados tienden a hacerlo mejor en todas las medidas de la consecución educacional que sus compañeros criados en un hogar de un padre soltero, divorciado o cohabitante," dijo. "Esto es verdad para todo, desde el porcentaje de promedio escolar, asuntos de comportamiento, graduación de secundaria y la continuación de estudios universitarios. Tanto las mamás como los papás importan aquí, además del tipo de relación entre ellos."
EL ÍNDICE DE DIVORCIO AUMENTÓ DESDE LA QUERRA DE IRAK -- Un estudio divulgado el 2 de enero por el grupo sin fines de lucro Family Life muestra que desde que la guerra de Irak comenzó hace 10 años, el índice de divorcio entre los miembros del servicio militar se ha disparado un 42 por ciento.
Dennis Rainey, fundador y presidente de Family Life, dijo en una declaración que los primeros 90 días de un destacamento son los más cruciales debido a que es cuando las parejas desarrollan nuevos hábitos que establecen el tono de su matrimonio.
Pero Corie Weathers, consejera profesional licenciada que es esposa de un capellán del ejército estacionado en Georgia y es madre de dos hijos, dijo que los primeros 90 días después de que el soldado regresa al hogar son igual de cruciales.
"Los soldados más jóvenes no tienen la capacidad para lidiar con lo que vieron en batalla, así que regresan al hogar y se sumergen en juegos de video, pornografía y medios sociales," dijo ella. "Las mujeres desarrollan esta mentalidad que dice: 'No quiero ceder el control, aunque realmente deseo que tú lo tomes de mí.'"
La reintegración -- la cual puede tomar hasta un año -- es un tiempo clave para sacar ventaja de un retiro para matrimonios militares dirigido por un capellán.
"Ustedes tienen que conocerse de nuevo, así que los primeros 90 días es cuando tratamos de que vayan a un retiro a aprender a arreglárselas de nuevo y a desarrollar nuevas habilidades de comunicación," dijo Weathers. "Es como oprimir el botón de comenzar de nuevo."
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Compilado por Tom Strode, jefe de la oficina de Baptist Press Washington, Erin Roach, editora asistente y World News Service.
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EDITORIAL: Indigencia
by Por Luis R. López
Date: January 13, 2012 - Friday
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- Hace dos semanas, sentado en la sala de mi casa recibí la noticia de un tío que había experimentado un derrame cerebral. Lo tenían en terapia intensiva. Por varias horas no se notó ninguna reacción positiva. La voz del familiar que me lo comunicaba por teléfono trasmitía dolor y quebrantamiento. La trágica noticia me estremeció. Durante días agonizamos en la espera de una reacción. La vida de este ser querido podía terminar en cuestión de minutos u horas. Hay momentos y situaciones que nos estremecen. Nos hacen ver las cosas con la perspectiva correcta. Nos ayudan a reflexionar en lo frágil que es la vida.
Las luchas y dificultades son parte de este mundo. Las tormentas pueden llevarnos a los pies de la cruz o pueden sacar lo peor de nosotros mismos. A pesar que no es nuestra preferencia, en muchos casos las tormentas son la tierra que Dios usa para ayudarnos a crecer.
"Dios está en control" es fácil de decir, especialmente cuando es otra la persona la que está enfrentando la crisis. Reconocerlo y vivirlo es algo totalmente diferente. Nos preocupamos cuando sentimos que la situación no es manejable. Cada uno de nosotros quiere sentir la capacidad de "controlar" nuestras propias situaciones. En realidad, cuando reconocemos nuestra insuficiencia ante Dios es cuando comenzamos a experimentar Su gracia y paz. Nuestra necesidad e indigencia es lo que Dios muchas veces usa para llevarnos hacia El.
Pablo nos exhorta en Col. 2:6 "Por tanto, de la manera que recibisteis a Cristo Jesús el Señor, así andad en El." Necesitamos darnos cuenta que no podemos ganar las dádivas de Dios a través de nuestros propios esfuerzos. O las recibimos como un regalo o simplemente no las tenemos. La mayor bendición espiritual que recibimos es llegar a la certeza de que estamos desvalidos, destituidos. Hasta que no lleguemos allí, le bloqueamos a Dios Su capacidad de actuar. Dios no puede hacer nada por nosotros mientras pensemos que somos suficientes y que podemos con nosotros mismos. Tenemos que entrar en su reino a través de la puerta de la indigencia. Hemos sido destituidos de Su gloria. A Dios no le gustan los autosuficientes. De hecho, aborrece la arrogancia. Mientras que creamos que somos "ricos," especialmente en el área del orgullo o de la independencia, Dios no puede hacer nada por nosotros. Es sólo cuando tenemos hambre espiritual y sed de El que recibimos del Espíritu Santo.
Son los momentos como el descubrir la necesidad de un ser querido los que nos llevan a Él. Buscarle en oración y entregarle la vida de este tío fue abrir la puerta para que reconociera mi necesidad y Dios comenzara a actuar. ¡Oh, bendita necesidad que nos lleva a Jesús!
Él toma lo que está "más allá" de nosotros y lo sitúa "dentro" de nosotros. Cuando nos preocupamos por algo es porque precisamente eso no se lo hemos entregado totalmente a Él. Rendírselo por completo es nuestra mejor decisión y el inicio de descubrir su gracia. Esto es andar en el Espíritu. Inmediatamente, una vez aquello que estaba "más allá" llega y viene a ser puesto "dentro" de nosotros mismos. La paz que en un momento nos roba la tormenta llega cuando comenzamos a poner nuestros ojos en Aquel que es el comienzo y el fin de todo. El tío aun sigue bajo vigilancia médica. Ha salido del hospital. Todavía está recuperándose. Esperamos resultados de muchos exámenes que le han realizado. Oramos por él.
En el mundo físico, los indigentes son personas que carecen de vivienda adecuada y de ingresos propios, que viven en una situación de pobreza y marginación social. En pocas palabras, personas necesitadas. En el mundo espiritual, la indigencia es el reconocimiento de que somos seres extremadamente necesitados de Dios, pobres en espíritu. Necesitamos de Dios, su perdón, su fuerza y su gracia para vivir cada día.
La indigencia espiritual abre las puertas a la suficiencia del Dios todopoderoso. Cuando nos vaciamos de nosotros mismos y dejamos a Cristo vivir a través de nosotros es cuando andamos en la luz del Reino. De lo contrario, andamos llenos de nuestro ego y de nuestros pecados. Cristo ama al indigente.
Fraternalmente en Cristo,
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Luis R. López es el Director de LifeWay Español de LifeWay Church Resources en Nashville, Tenn. http://www.LifeWay.com/espanol.